Favorite Albums, 2010, including personal memories attached to said albums.
Best of the best:
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I remember downloading “Monster” the night it was released. Max and I were getting ready to go out. We listened to it like seven times and then just put Nicki’s verse on repeat a few times. Kanye brought back event listening in 2010. Runaway on the VMAs? Come on. This is the best album in years. Stunning.
LCD Soundsystem, This is Happening
Sometime in April, I was working at a bank part-time opposite school, and one day I was notified that I was being transferred to another branch the next day. It was really sad because I had been there for a year and grown really close to my coworkers. I was given five minutes to collect myself in the bathroom and while I was in there I cried a little bit and then checked Twitter (duh). Brooklyn Vegan announced tickets for a “secret” LCD Soundsystem show going on sale a few minutes later for that evening. I bought two on my phone. That day, this album leaked, but I didn’t know because I was at the concert, listening to James Murphy premiere “I Can Change,” which is just like the best song. The timing of the whole thing was just too perfect. Masterful band; masterful album.
Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid (Suites II-III)
I’ve been on Janelle’s team for a while, after stumbling upon her show a few years ago—she was opening for Gnarls Barkley at Irving Plaza. Absolutely blew me away. Have been waiting for her to get big since then. Yeah, this is sort of bragging in that weird way music fans do. You know what? It’s worth it. This woman is a gem and I am proud to have been with her from the beginning. Her live show is insane.
Gorillaz, Plastic Beach
In April or something, Max and I went on our first vacation together, over spring break, to Asheville, NC. It was like the best week ever, and on the drive down, we listened to this a few times. Pitch-perfect. I think the first time I heard “White Flag,” I said “are you shitting me?” out loud. Feel like this album is severely underrated. Why is that?
MGMT, Congratulations
Speaking of “severely underrated.” I don’t know what people were expecting, but this is fun. When they released “Flash Delirium,” Max and I listened to it on his bed in his old Bushwick apartment. We laughed at the flute solo and I said “what are they thinking?” After five more listens, I started to understand. This album is wacky, fun, and weirdly exciting. There were few more exciting moments in songs than that turn near the end of “Someone’s Missing.”
Sleigh Bells, Treats
“Ring Ring”, as it was then called, was one of my favorite songs of last year. In its new reincarnation as “Rill Rill”, it’s even better. This album reminds me of the beginning of summer, and just wanting to dance a lot after graduating. Even though I was poor and depressed all summer, this reminded me that this energetic, boundless fun existed somewhere. Sounds corny.
Robyn, Body Talk
Is there something about MSM that hard-wires us to enjoy this woman’s music? I don’t know. Probably not. But anyway, mostly this just reminds me of listening to “Dancing On My Own” over and over and over and over again over the summer.
Wavves, King of the Beach
I listened to this album five times in a row, while sitting on a bus from New York to Massachusetts and occasionally falling asleep, which is precisely what I’m doing right now. Sounds like everything my generation has experienced so far, in a very deliberate way. I remember there being a really awesome Pitchfork Reviews Reviews post about this thing too.
Das Racist, Sit Down, Man
And we thought Shut Up, Dude was good! When I first started dating Max in the summer of 09 he brought me to a Das Racist concert because he interned at the company that promoted them, or something, and I was all “is this a joke?” but then I read an interview with them in the Village Voice and I was all “must own everything they have ever done” and then they put out two awesome mixtapes this year and I feel like they can do no wrong. So smart, so now. Yikes. Brilliant and fun.
Dirty Projectors + Björk, Mount Wittenberg Orca
When I wrote for Slate, I listened to this every morning, no exaggeration. It’s short. Reminds me of going to the Dirty Projectors concert (which blew my mind) and hoping Björk would show up and even when she didn’t, the songs from this album were too good.
Also awesome this year:
Beach House, Teen Dream
Sorta sounds like a great nap. Her voice is somehow both chilling and calming. Does a great job of taking their persistent “mood” and making it into “songs.”
Titus Andronicus, The Monitor
One time the laundry machines in my old building were broken and I had to go to a laundromat (quelle horreur!) and while I was there I listened to this album and it made me cry. Maybe I was thinking about something else, but it really did. I cry like 5 times a year. This was one of them. Take that as you will.
Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Just “Shine Blockas”, over and over and over and over again all summer.
Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., Record Collection
Listened to this on my way to an interview at Google, to pump me up or something. It worked. Listened to it again after leaving that interview and while I was listening to it Pat texted me to ask me to come in and start working at GroupMe. Boom.
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
Haters to the left: “Check it Out” was on repeat for me a lot this fall. Sorry? Her talent makes me feel proud, for some reason. Is that racist, or something? I hope not.
Vampire Weekend, Contra
Spoon, Transference
Hot Chip, One Life Stand
These three albums came out at roughly the same time and I remember waking up to go to work every morning and deciding which one I would listen to on my way to work. Uniformly great, but I haven’t listened to them in a while, which is probably why they’re so far down on this list.
Yeasayer, Odd Blood
Yikes, this is like MGMT’s album except crazier. Lots of good songs. Was on repeat for a while this spring. That’s all I remember.
Notes:
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